29 Oct 2026
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has unveiled a new four-year strategy, setting out how industry can respond to the intersecting challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and affordability.
The strategy sets a vision for an Australian built environment that is climate positive, circular, nature positive, healthy and resilient by 2035.
The 2030 and Beyond strategy sets out GBCA’s priorities as Australia moves into the next phase of sustainable transformation, including ambitious targets to reduce upfront carbon by 60%, triple Australia’s circularity rate to 15% and achieve at least 10% biodiversity net gain.
Chief Executive Officer Davina Rooney said the strategy reflected both how far Australia’s property industry had come and the scale of the transformation still ahead.
“Twenty years ago, a highly sustainable building was the exception. Today, many of Australia’s leading organisations see sustainability as simply part of doing good business,” Ms Rooney said.
“But the next decade asks more of us. We need to move faster on carbon, use resources more intelligently, restore rather than just reduce our impact on nature, and make sure the places we create can withstand a changing climate.
“Our vision is for Australia to be recognised globally for a built environment that is climate positive, circular, nature positive, healthy and resilient, guided by connection to Country.
“This is not about a handful of flagship buildings. The real prize is taking what we know works and making it the norm across our homes, workplaces, schools, hospitals, communities and the infrastructure that supports them.”
GBCA Chair, Anthony Boyd, said the strategy builds on more than two decades of industry leadership and sets a clear direction for GBCA’s next chapter.
“For 25 years, GBCA and its members have shown what is possible when industry comes together around a shared ambition.
“This strategy builds on that strong foundation and sets a clear direction for the next four years, focused on where GBCA can have the greatest impact.
“Our strength has always been our members and our ability to bring industry and government together. That collaboration will be critical as we work to turn the ambition of this strategy into lasting change across Australia’s built environment.”
The strategy identifies five priorities that will guide GBCA’s work:
• being the national authority on sustainability in the built environment
• shaping the sector’s response to climate action and resilience, circularity, nature and emerging megatrends
• ensuring Green Star continues to set the benchmark for sustainability leadership
• expanding GBCA’s impact into new sectors and opportunities
• building a future-ready organisation.
This includes growing GBCA’s focus in areas where significant change is already underway, from homes and apartments to data centres, healthcare and education, industrial and logistics, and supply chains.
Ms Rooney said GBCA would use its four core levers of rating, educating, advocating and collaborating to help accelerate that change.
“Green Star has shown us what’s possible when you set a clear benchmark and industry gets behind it. But certifying buildings is only one part of transformation,” Ms Rooney said.
“We also need the right policy settings, people with the skills to deliver, and collaboration across sectors that have traditionally worked separately.
“Transformation happens when we bring those pieces together.”
As of 30 June 2026, GBCA had issued more than 9,860 Green Star certifications across more than 4,300 individual buildings, fitouts and communities, with Green Star now touching the lives of millions of Australians.
More than 1.1 million people will live or work in Green Star certified communities, 10% of Australia’s workers can be accommodated in Green Star certified offices each day, and 77 million square metres of building space is Green Star certified.
Ms Rooney said the next decade would require the same spirit of collaboration that had driven progress to date.
“No organisation can transform the built environment alone. Our impact has always come from the collective ambition of our members and partners, and from an industry prepared to keep lifting the bar,” Ms Rooney said
“Our new strategy is about taking that ambition into the next decade and making sustainable places the expectation everywhere.
“Australia shouldn’t have to choose between a more sustainable built environment and one that is affordable and productive.
“We need to deliver both, creating homes, buildings and communities that cost less to run, perform better and are healthier and more resilient for the people who use them.”
Read GBCA’s Strategy 2030 and beyon